PASADENA
- The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced
Thursday it has determined the final five alternatives it will study for
the 710 Freeway extension.
The new list that does not include two proposed routes through Pasadena's wealthy San Rafael neighborhood.
The
announcement came the day after a San Rafael Neighborhood Association
meeting at which about 300 local residents and politicians had one
resounding message for Metro: no 710 Freeway extension, anywhere.
The
meeting was one of many protests in recent weeks against Metro's
proposed 710 extension to close a 4.5-mile freeway gap between Alhambra
and Pasadena.
San
Rafael Neighborhood Association President Ron Paler said he was
"excited" to hear the San Rafael routes had been dropped, and credited
the local community's activism for influencing Metro's decision.
"I
think there's no doubt that the activism of numerous individuals and
numerous groups ... was one of the driving forces ultimately responsible
for Metro's decisions," Paler said.
The
final list eliminates the F2 and F5 tunnel routes that connect to the
134 and 2 Freeways, the F6 surface/depressed route connecting the 10 and
210
Freeways, the H2 highway route up Avenue 64 and the H5 highway along Fremont and Fair Oaks Avenues.
"The
low-performing and senseless options - particularly the routes along
Avenue 64 and through the San Rafael community - ought never have been
included in the first place," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael
D. Antonovich, who chairs the MTA.
Antonovich
blamed Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, for legislation that mandated
"route neutrality" and forced Metro to examine building through the
pricey and politically connected neighborhoods of southwest Pasadena.
Metro
staff is set to present a more in-depth explanation of how the study
team chose the final five routes out of the 12 it has been studying for
months. That presentation will take place at the Technical Advisory
Meeting on Wednesday, Metro official Frank Quon said.
Still on the table are:
A no-build option, which includes 50 small improvement projects throughout the study area;
A
solution that would incorporate Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) into
the study area. The option will also encourage ride-sharing and off-peak
travel;
Light
rail that would follow a route from the East Los Angeles Civic Center
Station through Monterey Park and connect to the Gold Line at the
Fillmore Station;
A bus line that would connect from the Atlantic Station on the Gold Line to Pasadena via Atlantic and Fair Oaks avenues;
A freeway tunnel connecting the 10 and 210 Freeways between Alhambra and Pasadena.
A multi-lane interstate above ground freeway connection is no longer under consideration, officials said.
The options will be studied more in-depth during the remaining two years of Metro's EIR process.
Quon
said Metro heard the voices of community activists, but made a decision
on the final alternatives based on a set of criteria that determined
each route's feasibility and ability to ease traffic congestion.
"We're
aware of and we understand and respect the activism and the voices from
the community but we had focused on our many aspects of evaluating it
and we had developed performance measures to evaluate all of the
alternatives," Quon said.
But
Paler said Metro's decision to remove the San Rafael routes will not
stop the SRNA from fighting all forms of the 710 Freeway extension.
State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, praised the decision, but said it didn't go far enough to protect residents.
"I'm
pleased for any neighborhood that gets spared from the nightmare but
disappointed that Metro continues to think that the tunnel makes sense
when the overwhelming facts available say it doesn't," Portantino said.
"They should immediately stop all work on any misguided notion of
furthering a tunnel."
Even
before Thursday's decision, SRNA member John Shaffer encouraged
residents Wednesday to remember their own dismay about the San Rafael
routes to motivate them to continue fighting a freeway extension.
"I
want everyone here to remember that feeling you felt the day you
learned that our neighborhood was in the path of this highway or freeway
and don't ever forget that feeling," Shaffer said. "Because even if we
manage to defeat the routes through our neighborhood, there are other
families that are going to be feeling that same feeling and we have to
be there for them the same way they are for us."
Politicians
at Wednesday's SRNA meeting also took a stand against all freeway
routes. Among them were state Sen. Candidate Gil Gonzales, state
Assembly candidate Donna Lowe and Portantino representative Julianne
Hines. Portantino sent a letter Wednesday to Caltrans representatives
urging a complete halt to the 710 extension study completely.
Executive
Director of Pasadena Heritage Claire Bogaard, wife of Pasadena Mayor
Bill Bogaard, commented on the various environmental and logistical
problems that could come from a tunnel route, which she said she thinks
will be high on Metro's list. She also encouraged residents to vote
against the extension of Measure R in November if it includes 710
funding.
The
Los Angeles City Council is also set today to take a vote on opposing
five of the routes that have now been eliminated. Residents from San
Rafael, Highland Park, Garvanza and other affected neighborhoods said
they planned to attend the meeting and encourage the council to take an
even more aggressive approach and also oppose the tunnel option.
"We
hope there can be more exposure to the city council members as to this
flawed process," said Highland Park resident Gretchen Knudsen. "We're
just getting started."
We must continue to work until Metro adopts responsible, cost-effective transportation solutions for Pasadena and the region.
